Enterprise Investors acquires CBA supermarkets in Slovakia

The Polish investment fund Enterprise Investors, also present in Romania, has completely acquired the CBA independent retailer in Slovakia in a deal with an estimated value of between 20 and 50 million euros.

The investment fund acquired the full share package of CBA Slovakia, investing an additional 16 million euros to redeem the company's debt and to continue the expansion strategy. The transaction was mediated by Polish Enterprise Fund VII, a private equity fund owned by Enterprise Investors.

CBA is also present in Romania since 2002 when the franchise concept was launched, but also in Poland, Serbia, Czech Republic and Bulgaria. The retailer owns over 7,000 stores. In Romania, the company reported last year a 25% increase in business compared to 2015, up to 98 million lei, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.

In Slovakia, the company owns a chain of 310 stores that generated last year's business of 130 million euros. CBA Slovakia has stores located in the west and central Slovakia and is one of the largest retailers at local level.

"We are confident that CBA Slovakia is an optimal platform to grow on the proximity retail segment, which will continue to grow as consumers are looking to buy what they need from nearby stores", said Michał Rusieck, Managing Partner Enterprise.

At the end of November 2016, Polish Enterprise Fund VI (PEF VI), a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors, announced the signing of a 100% deal for the sale of Profi Rom Food to Mid Europa Partners investment fund, the value of the sold shares being around 533 million euros.

Enterprise Investors is one of the largest private equity firms in Central and Eastern Europe. Active since 1990, the company has raised eight funds with an aggregate capital of more than 2 billion euros. These funds invested 1.8 billion euros in 139 companies across a wide range of sectors and sold 125 companies with gross revenues of nearly 3.5 billion euros.